Page 15 of Tainted Blood

“Natural, and it’s quite nice to have. We keep it stocked with fish, and when there are no vampires in residence, the staff has fishing competitions. I wish I could say it helped with security, but it doesn’t. In fact, we had to make some changes thanks to humans deciding they had a right to use it. That’s why the gate is so close to the main road now.”

“Hot summer. Some locals wanted to go for a dip?”

“They even brought a boat,” Isaiah said with a curl of his lip. “They had heard some of the staff talking in town about how there was a gorgeous pond on the property and thought no one would care.”

“Did the trespassers live?” Alexius asked nonchalantly.

“They did…” Isaiah didn’t sound happy about it. “Jacob was visiting at the time, waiting for me to get out of the city. He’d resolved the entire situation before I ever heard about it. It was… the sixties or seventies. I don’t remember. I changed the gate, though, thanks to those humans. For a few decades, the staff had to make a schedule to watch the gate to let in delivery people and the like. The moment we could, we set up that buzzer and updated the security room in the mansion so it could all be done remotely.”

“We never had so many guests as to need that level of security,” I said softly, watching the mansion spin thanks to our trip around the pond.

“You were the one who made him update to the modern age, weren’t you?”

“Yeah…” I remembered it so clearly, that long conversation presenting my ideas to Jacob, who listened indulgently like my own father would when I had ideas or plans. It was the benign look that didn’t tell you if they were interested or only listening because they cared about you and wanted you to feel like you were heard. In the end, I got the job, so I preferred to think Jacob was the former case.

“None of this would be new to you, but we have cameras, and a section of the staff keeps an eye on the footage to clear it when necessary. No one kills in my home. The areas of the home where more inappropriate things are done aren’t being monitored… bedrooms, dining rooms, offices, and the like.”

“Jacob didn’t want cameras in any of the bedrooms, and I never asked to put them there, but we had them in the rest of the house for the most part.”

“He had humans working in a nest where vampires were sent when they lost control and had a difficult time getting it back. He would have wanted to look at the cameras to make sure humans were never put in danger. He was good at keeping everyone in line, as you know, but there were cases through the years.” Isaiah was relaxed as he spoke, but I could feel the tension coming off Alexius. “He never spoke to me about modernizing. It just happened one day, and I never thought to look into why or how. I just thought he finally got with the program.”

“Well, it wasn’t your estate, so…” I shrugged.

“Jacob liked talking about everyone who lived there, including his humans. I knew your mother. So did Alexius. I mean, to us, she was the human that our humans worked with. Another face that would change in a few more decades. He never mentioned you, though, the young woman who convinced him to let computers into his nest.”

“Yeah, I knew about her and Alexius knowing each other. I got his number and talked to Rupert for the first time, thanks to her trying to get them to help before she was killed. I found her notes,” I said. “What are you trying to say?”

“Nothing,” Isaiah finally said, shaking his head. “My mind wandered and tried to put together pieces that didn’t fit.”

“Okay…” I didn’t believe him but couldn’t say anything.

“We knew her father, too,” Alexius finally said. “He died when Everly was young.”

Why is it so weird to hear that?

“That’s right…” Isaiah’s eyes went wide as he nodded. He once again focused on me. “Your vampiric uncle, he’s on your father’s side, right?”

I made a face. Myuncle. If I never saw him again, it would be too soon.

“Yeah. He was sired by a vampire in Jacob’s nest, then asked if his sister’s family could work for the nest. Jacob said yes. My dad’s side of the family has worked there ever since. Not everyone, but there was always at least one person each generation who would work for the nest. When my dad died, technically, there was no one from his family working at the nest until I came home from college.”

“You don’t miss your uncle?” Isaiah asked with a frown, clearly missing whatever I had said as he stared at me.

“He left when my dad died and never came back, never even reached out. No phone calls, no emails. He left us no way to contact him for help. Maybe if we had been able to… maybe he could have gotten us out before Edwin…” I swallowed the pain of that silent betrayal from a man who’d claimed we’d always be his family.

I had to turn away from Isaiah to wipe my eyes as the pain lanced me in a way it hadn’t in months. I avoided feeling the pain of those losses—my mom, our lives, my dad, the way everyone turned against me while I struggled on my own. I had a different life now. Thinking of my old life tonight when it felt so familiar driving up to Isaiah’s country estate was opening a wound I hadn’t noticed in some time and had been content ignoring for weeks, even months.

“I’m sorry for bringing it up,” Isaiah said with a kindness I wasn’t accustomed to from him. He pulled out a black handkerchief and held it out. I took it slowly, using it to dab my eyes.

“No, it’s fine. Something tonight made it feel worse than it has in a while,” I said, holding it out to him.

“Keep it,” he said, waving his hand in dismissal, but it didn’t feel like a thoughtless one. I rubbed my fingers on it, looking down at the handkerchief before tucking it away in my jacket pocket.

We were silent as we finally parked in front of the massive building. Isaiah was the first to get out, followed by me, with Alexius getting out last. Isaiah stood close, blocking my view of everything as Alexius got out and didn’t move away until that moment. I knew why. I could hear their heartbeats, all of them perfectly healthy. I tried to count how many rhythms I heard, all slightly different in speed thanks to the slight variations of everyone’s resting pulse.

I was on twelve when Alexius tapped my elbow, and I lost count. It was a good thing. My fangs had lowered, and I wondered if my eyes were red. The burn in my throat was worse than it had any right to be, considering I had fed three hours ago and should have been able to last six hours without any problem.

“Their rooms are ready for them if they would like to inspect them. Their luggage made its way here a touch faster and has already been unloaded and sent down. The footmen should be finishing up with that right now.”

---